Wednesday 7 June 2017

NAPD Region 6 Annual Report

Meeting with newly appointed School Leaders - September 2016 

In September 2016, the NAPD Region 6 Steering Committee organised a special evening for newly appointed school leaders in the Woodlands House Hotel in Adare, Co. Limerick. Mr. Jim Twohig, NAPD Region 6 Support Officer, attended this gathering and congratulated and welcomed newly appointed leaders. The Chairperson, Donncha Ó Treasaigh outlined the benefits of becoming a member of NAPD, the value of attending the meetings organised at regional level and provided details on the NAPD national conference and conference website - www.napdconference.com. This was a very enjoyable and beneficial evening with newly appointed school leaders complimenting the format and spirit of their introduction to NAPD. 

AGM - 21 September 2016 

NAPD Region 6 held its Annual General Meeting in the Woodlands House Hotel, Adare on 21 September 2016. NAPD Members met for lunch, followed by a presentation from Genevieve Murray (stuaim.ie) on Avoiding & Dealing effectively with Conflict. Genevieve’s keynote was particularly impressive and aptly timed to support school leaders in the area of conflict avoidance as opposed to managing it once it happens. Chairperson of Region 6, Donncha Ó Treasaigh gave an account of the activities and meetings of the Region for the previous year. A new Regional Steering Committee was appointed at the end of the meeting. 

Christmas Lunch Meeting 

The newly elected officers of NAPD Region 6 organised an excellent event to support members on curriculum planning in November. The annual lunch meeting for Region 6 took place on 30 November, 2016. Arising from a survey of Members (during the Regional meeting at Conference 2016, Galway and an on-line survey of Members in Region 6), it was decided to focus on curriculum planning and timetabling with a view to the changes proposed under the new Junior Cycle programme. Liam Murphy, Chairperson of Region 6 and Colin Bergin, Secretary of Region 6 welcomed Fiona O’ Brien from JCT to the meeting. JCT were invited to the meeting to give an input and a very useful and invigorating discussion followed allowing schools to share experience of 45/50/60 minute timetable configurations and ideas relating to managing SLAR meeting requirements. 

Meitheal 2017 

Our annual Meitheal was one of the most well attended, enjoyable and beneficial overnights ever. We returned to the beautiful Killarney Park Hotel and enjoyed one-another’s company over coffee, the evening meal, breakfast and lunch. Our speakers included the much highly sought after Shane Martin, who gave a most wonderful presentation, and who joined us afterwards for dinner and later in the bar. The event was so successful, that Members of Region 7 chose to join us in our hotel!. Dr. Joe O’ Connell spoke to us on the Friday morning session about having the discussion around the topical issue of the review of Posts of Responsibility. NAPD President, and proud Kerry native, Cathnia Ó Muircheartaigh addressed our members prior to lunch. 

JCT Curriculum Planning Event 

A workshop was held in the Woodlands Adare on 14 March on the topic of "Curriculum Planning and Timetabling" Alan Mongey gave a comprehensive and practical input on the New Junior Cycle with a particular emphasis on Wellbeing. Much of the content of the presentation dealt with the immediate implications in terms of planning and timetabling. The meeting was attended by over 40 people some from outside Region 6 who were unable to attend similar workshops in their respective regions. 
Written by Donncha Ó Treasaigh (former chairperson of NAPD Region 6) and Colin Bergin (Secretary of NAPD Region 6).